Unfortunately, there are long delays in Cavan-Monaghan for children with additional needs or disabilities to obtain therapies such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy. We all know the importance of having early interventions to support a child with a specific health needs, but, unfortunately, this is not happening sufficiently. There are particular difficulties in getting clinicians to take up these posts in areas like counties Cavan and Monaghan. We need a robust international recruitment campaign for therapists. Equally, a shorter process must be undertaken in validating the qualifications of people who trained abroad. In the longer term, we must train more people in our own colleges and these professional positions must become attractive as careers. Recruitment and retention of such clinicians are essential to ensure that adequate services are provided for children with a disability, regardless of where they live.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As part of the progressing disability services, PDS, roadmap process, I will be meeting with Mr. Bernard Gloster tomorrow and recruitment and retention will be addressed. I refer as well to increasing the attractiveness of recruitment into those various clinician posts, examining how we can put apprenticeship models in place and how we can attract people in from abroad and create incentives to attract people to come as well. We are looking at all these measures in the round and, hopefully, this will be part of the PDS roadmap that will be launched in the next number of days.